Aug. 10, 2013

Norah Jones (left) performs with Cory Chisel and members of the Candles during the Mile of Music festival Friday at Lawrence University Memorial Chapel in downtown Appleton. / Dan Powers/Post-Crescent Media

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Post-Crescent Media has boots on the ground thoughout the weekend at Mile of Music. Keep an eye on postcrescent.com/mileofmusic and follow reporters Shane Nyman (@shanenyman), Mike Thiel (@thielwrites), Jim Collar (@jimcollar), Ed Berthiaume (@edberthiaume) on Twitter. You can also watch for the hashtag #MileofMusic.

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APPLETON — In bringing Mile of Music to Appleton, Cory Chisel is presenting a series of exciting performances from an impressive crop of talent.

That’s also exactly what Chisel offered up Friday for the festival’s first headlining show at Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

Though billed as Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, the Candles, Adriel Denae and Spacewoman as separate acts, the night felt much more like one big Wild Rovers extravaganza. It’s the Wild Rovers tour that brought these gifted acts to Appleton, and players from each were back and forth on the stage for an evening full of collaboration.

On top of the advertised artists, there was another addition to the cast of entertainers: multiple Grammy Award winner Norah Jones, who joined in not only during Chisel’s set, but also played with Spacewoman and Denae.

Jones had been playing with the Wild Rovers tour at previous stops since it kicked off last week, and rumors had spread that she might be a part of Friday night’s show. To the delight of the sold-out crowd, the rumors were true.

Following sets that ranged 30 to 40 minutes from Spacewoman (the solo project of Candles’ keyboard player Pete Remm) and the Candles, along with 15 minutes of solo work from Denae, Chisel took the stage to a standing ovation.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty proud of our town tonight,” Chisel said before starting off his set with the one-two punch of “This is How it Goes” and “I’ve Been Accused.”

What followed was 70 minutes of Chisel material from both 2012’s “Old Believers” (“Times Wont’ Change,” “Over Jordan”) and 2009’s “Death Won’t Send a Letter” (“My Heart Will Be There,” “Born Again”) along with a few deeper cuts sprinkled in (“Home in the Woods”) and some choice covers — or “tributes” as he said he’d rather call them, acknowledging Mile of Music’s focus on originality.

Chisel’s backing band was a constant rotation of Wandering Sons regulars, members of the Candles and a few drop-ins from Jones. The collaborative spirit went as far as Chisel leaving the stage after eight songs so Denae and Jones could duet.

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The Jones surprise was well-designed, with the star used to filling venues exponentially larger than the chapel simply walking out with the Spacewoman crew. She played piano and sang backing vocals without any introduction or added attention. Despite the presence of a mega-star, it never felt like Jones overshadowed the other acts.

Around the set’s midpoint, Chisel initiated a birthday sing-along with the crowd for Candles’ drummer Greg Wieczorek. Wieczorek was presented with a cheesehead and Jones presented him with a birthday cake. (Yes, the Candle blew out the candles.)

Among the cover songs performed was the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues,” likely chosen because Friday was the 18-year anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death. (The Candles also closed with the Dead’s “Brokedown Palace.”)

The evening’s opening act was the charming Boston-based Hillary Reynolds Band, featuring Fox Valley native Reynolds out front. She expressed the thrill of being back performing at the Lawrence Chapel, where she’d performed many times growing up. Chisel later echoed that thought: “I moved here when I was 8 years old. My first public performance was in this building right here.”

The night wrapped in appropriate fashion, with the entire cast of Wild Rovers characters gathering together for a run through Gram Parsons’ “Hickory Wind” and then a stripped-down Chisel-Denae duet of “In the Deep End.”

The two took a bow and closed the show, while Mile of Music rolled on down College Avenue.